Plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit against President Trump have asked a Washington state district court to expedite a ruling and permanently stop the military from instituting a ban on transgender troops.
The request for summary judgment in Karnoski v. Trump on Thursday comes after federal judges recently granted injunctions to transgender plaintiffs in that lawsuit and three others, temporarily blocking any ban while the cases are heard.
The injunctions led to the military’s first transgender applicants filling out their enlistment paperwork this month despite an uncertain future for their service. A summary judgment could bring the first round of that legal battle to a close, but any ruling would almost certainly be appealed.
“Every single federal court to look at President Trump’s policy has already found that it reeks of undisguised and unlawful discrimination against qualified transgender people willing and able to serve our country, and it’s time to put the nail in the coffin for that policy,” said Peter Renn, a senior attorney with the Lambda Legal rights group that is sponsoring the Karnoski lawsuit.
Active-duty transgender troops and prospective recruits are battling the Justice Department in four federal court districts as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is set to unveil his transgender personnel policy recommendations to Trump on Feb. 21.
The cases are now moving into the discovery and deposition phases.
The Justice Department has argued the lawsuits are premature because no new military policy has been set. It has attempted to delay at least one of the federal lawsuits from moving ahead until Mattis completes his work.
Trump announced in July that transgender troops would no longer be allowed to serve “in any capacity” and ordered Mattis to roll back the Obama administration policy of open service.
